Chinese grammar · Beginner (A1)
的: possession and describing
的 links an owner or a description to a noun: 我的手机, 漂亮的房间, 穿红衣服的人. When to drop it, and 的 without a noun.
的 for possession
(de) links an owner to what they own, like English “'s”: (wǒ de shǒujī, my phone), (Wáng lǎoshī de shū, Mr Wang's book), (wǒ tóngshì de háizi, my colleague's child). The owner always comes first.
After a pronoun, turns “I” into “my”, “you” into “your” and so on: , , . With no noun after it, it means “mine”, “yours”: (zhè shì wǒ de, this is mine).
- 这是我的手机。Zhè shì wǒ de shǒujī.This is my phone.
- 这是我同事的照片。Zhè shì wǒ tóngshì de zhàopiàn.This is my colleague's photo.
- 这个不是我的。Zhège bú shì wǒ de.This one isn't mine.
When to leave out 的
With family members, close friends and groups you belong to, such as your home, company or school, after a pronoun is usually dropped: (wǒ māma, my mum), (wǒ jiā, my home, my family), (wǒmen gōngsī, our company).
With things, keep : , . You'll hear it dropped in quick speech, but using it is always correct.
| Usually without | Usually with |
|---|---|
| (wǒ māma, my mum) | (wǒ de shǒujī, my phone) |
| (wǒ gēge, my older brother) | (wǒ de fángjiān, my room) |
| (wǒ jiā, my home, my family) | (wǒ de míngzi, my name) |
| (wǒmen gōngsī, our company) | (Wáng Hào de péngyou, Wang Hao's friend) |
- 这是我妈妈。Zhè shì wǒ māma.This is my mum.
- 我家有四口人。Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén.There are four people in my family.
Adjective + 的, and 的 without a noun
also links a description to a noun: (piàoliang de fángjiān, a beautiful room), (hěn xīn de shǒujī, a very new phone). Short, common adjectives often skip it: , .
When it's clear what you mean, the noun can be left out: (hóng de, the red one), (dà de, the big one), (là de, spicy food).
- 我要大的。Wǒ yào dà de.I'd like the big one.
- 我喜欢吃辣的。Wǒ xǐhuan chī là de.I like spicy food.
- 有没有便宜的？Yǒu méiyǒu piányi de?Do you have anything cheaper?
的-clauses: “the person who…”
In English, a “who” or “that” clause comes after the noun: “the woman who is wearing red”. In Chinese, the whole description comes before the noun, with at its end: (chuān hóng yīfu de rén), literally “wear red clothes person”.
Chinese has no word for “who”, “which” or “that” here: does the job. The noun can be left out too: (dài yǎnjìng de, the one with glasses).
| English | Chinese |
|---|---|
| the person wearing red | (chuān hóng yīfu de rén) |
| the phone I bought yesterday | (wǒ zuótiān mǎi de shǒujī) |
| a friend who works in Beijing | (zài Běijīng gōngzuò de péngyou) |
| the dishes you like | (nǐ xǐhuan de cài) |
- 穿红衣服的那个人是我表姐。Chuān hóng yīfu de nàge rén shì wǒ biǎojiě.The woman in red is my cousin.
- 我昨天买的手机很好用。Wǒ zuótiān mǎi de shǒujī hěn hǎoyòng.The phone I bought yesterday is really good.
- 戴眼镜的是我同事。Dài yǎnjìng de shì wǒ tóngshì.The one with glasses is my colleague.
Longer descriptions
The description before can be long, which is common when explaining things and in written Chinese: (chúxī wǎnshang chī de jiǎozi, the dumplings eaten on New Year's Eve). To take such a phrase apart, start from the end: the noun comes last, and everything before describes it.
- 这是我们除夕晚上吃的饺子。Zhè shì wǒmen chúxī wǎnshang chī de jiǎozi.These are the dumplings we eat on New Year's Eve.
- 长辈给孩子的红包叫压岁钱。Zhǎngbèi gěi háizi de hóngbāo jiào yāsuìqián.The red envelopes that older relatives give to children are called “yasuiqian”.
- 那家卖北京烤鸭的饭馆很有名。Nà jiā mài Běijīng kǎoyā de fànguǎn hěn yǒumíng.That restaurant that sells Peking duck is very famous.
Three words said de
Two other small words are also said de, but written differently. 地 links a description to a verb, like English “-ly”: (mànmàn de zǒu, walk slowly). 得 links a verb to a comment on how well it's done: (shuō de hěn hǎo, speaks well). In speech you can't hear the difference, so only the characters tell them apart.